Originally Posted by DArtagnan
But, in recent games, I think Fallout 3 is actually THE best game out there for exploration. It's shock full of interesting locations and little bits of unique story here and there.

I kinda agree. Fallout New Vegas was the first game in quite a while where I bothered to explore the whole map and every location. And I loved every second of it.

I really like the look of the setting. It has a lot of potential. Hopefully, they're still capable of getting the music right despite KaiRo no longer working there, as it's always been an important part of the special Gothic/Risen atmosphere.

German print magazine PC Games is reporting about the magic system. While the magazine will be available at Wednesday, subscribers already have it and people are already discussing the details in the German forum. So I thought I should give you a summary as well.

We already know that the magic will be Voodoo. As it seems, there will be no dedicated mage class in the game. Does not fit the concept anyway. It is a pirate game and you are supposed to be a pirate. And a good little pirate fights with muskets and/or cutlasses! Magic has been reduced to a support role, similar to the dirty tricks. It may also open new solutions for quests but based on what is currently known, I seriously doubt that you will be able to play a pure mage, i.e. get through the game with reasonable effort only relying on magic and without using conventional weapons.

The option to learn magic is presented to you on the first island after the tutorial. There, you will find two factions opposing each other: The Inquisition and the natives. You will have to team up with one of them (no, there will not be a third faction to choose from). If you join the Inquisition, you get access to firearms. If you join the natives, you get access to Voodoo.

Voodoo magic in the game is governed by the attribute "Black Magic" and consists of these elements:

Dolls
You can make real Voodoo dolls of your enemies. You will need something of them (like hair) and some other ingredients (herbs, animal teeth, etc.) which you can either collect yourself or buy from the local Voodoo dealer. The dolls are made at an altar and allow you to control the people they represent. This is used at certain, pre-defined points in the game as an alternative solution for problems. There are also curse-dolls which weaken someone. But like all Voodoo magic, it does not deal direct damage. Dolls disappear after they have been used.

Sceptres
Sceptres work similar to wands in D&D games like NWN. They have a specific function that can make your life easier. They can be used multiple times but like the dirty tricks, they have a cooldown period. Sceptres also do not directly damage an opponent but provide support for certain situations (causing fear, help with stealing, freezing time etc.).

Ghost summoning
This is a bit of a mystery at the moment. Apparently, this was mentioned in "GameStar TV" (a video stream for subscribers/payers of the German magazine GameStar). They discovered this in the character screen as a skill. But it was not available to them and they did not know what it would do. I am not even entirely certain it is really a part of Voodoo but it seems plausible, of course.

They didn't specify if you can make J.E.Sawyer doll and have some fun with it after playing Lionheart.

I must say, based on the info above, I'm less keen than I was before I like magic, and i like it to provide a viable path in the game - if this article is correct, it is really just there in a support role because you're a 'good little pirate and should be using a cutlass'. If the 3 elements outlined above for voodoo are 'it', that is indeed disappointing. Where is offensive magic (besides curses and debilitating effects)? And if you want voodoo, do you lose out on firearms? How are they going to justify your loss of 'regular' magical abilities, assuming you played as a mage before? Its like you're an entirely new character - well, if that is so, then they should developed this around some new 'nameless pirate' rather than the all conquering hero from Risen 1.

I'm not sure why they felt they had radically depart from the elements in Risen - time will tell whether they've miscalculated.

Originally Posted by booboo
Where is offensive magic (besides curses and debilitating effects)?

Yeah, it's gone. They are going for a mix and match character system this time around where you can choose from a few different combat styles and create your own custom build. Voodoo is one of the styles like dirty fighting that has more of a support character than being a fully fleshed out path.

And if you want voodoo, do you lose out on firearms?

Well, if you want to be really good with firearms and max your skill then you need to join the Inquisition. Since Voodoo magic is acquired from the Tonka (which is the other faction) it may very well be that firearms and Voodoo are mutually exclusive or at least you won't be able to become a master of both paths.

How are they going to justify your loss of 'regular' magical abilities, assuming you played as a mage before? Its like you're an entirely new character - well, if that is so, then they should developed this around some new 'nameless pirate' rather than the all conquering hero from Risen 1.

A few years have passed since Risen and our nameless hero has turned into a depressed alcoholic in the meantime. He is only a shadow of his former self when Risen 2 begins so that could be used as an explanation why he has unlearned it all.
I also hope that there is a good explanation for the disapperance of crystal magic in general, not just for why our hero has forgotten his past skills.

Originally Posted by Moriendor
I also hope that there is a good explanation for the disapperance of crystal magic in general, not just for why our hero has forgotten his past skills.

I definitely expect there to be some sort of in-game explanation for the absence of normal magic, and I'll be greatly disappointed if there isn't one. Especially when you consider how important magic was to the Inquisition in the first game.

As far as voodoo and firearms being exclusive to different paths, I hope that's indeed the case. It's never been possible to play a "jack of all trades" type character in PB's games, and I would like to see it continue that way.